Publisher of Special Interest Books for the Amazon Kindle Specializing in Self-Development Books Related to the Writings of Wallace D. Wattles

03/10/2019

Does Competition Help You Succeed?

Competition is something that's promoted in a positive light. According to economics professors, competition is what makes businesses thrive. Not only that, but it also allows athletes to perform better as well.

However, is it really healthy to be in a competitive state of mind? When you examine competition closely, you may find that it holds people back and becomes their entire life.

Starting from when you're a baby, you're taught to be competitive. For instance, when you needed a new diaper or milk from your baby bottle, you had to get the attention of your mother by competing for it. As you got older, you had to compete with more people than just your mother. If you had siblings, you needed to compete with them to get favors from your parents. In school, you had to compete with your classmates to get recognition from your teachers or coaches. Then, toward your high school years, you may have competed to win the affections of a girl that you liked.

What was the reward of all this? Well, if you played sports, then you may have competed to win a ribbon or trophy. If it was over a girl, then you may have wanted to ask her out or take her to the prom. Competition is usually about seeking some kind of reward in the end.

In adulthood, the rewards are even greater, but the competition is much harder. Instead of winning a trophy, you may be out to win a new job or a huge business deal. If you see someone else who's already received these rewards, you may be jealous as you compete against them. Jealousy is one of the biggest things that makes competing so difficult. If you end up failing to get the reward you wanted, then you may feel hatred toward the person who got it instead of you. This can be a terrible feeling to have to deal with.

Have you ever been jealous of someone who achieved a reward that you wanted but didn't get? If so, did it make you feel awful inside? If you answered "yes", do you want to find a way to stop feeling this way?

The answer to overcoming jealousy is simple. All you need to do is stop worrying about competition and competing against others.

That's not to say that you can't be motivated to achieve your goals. For instance, if you're trying to impress a girl that you want to ask out on a date, don't get jealous if she chooses someone else or already has a boyfriend. You don't need to hate her boyfriend either because he has the girl that you wanted. Instead, just think about the talents which you possess that he doesn't have. Surely, there must be another girl out there who can appreciate you for those talents. You just need to keep testing the waters without losing patience or getting discouraged. There are plenty of opportunities out there if you simply seize them.

Try to lower your expectations just a little. You don't need to be jealous of an athlete because they won an Olympic gold medal and you didn't. Why should you have gotten the medal anyway? Did you train and compete as hard as they did? Chances are, you're just somebody who has regret about the things they didn't do in their life. But that doesn't mean you can't be happy for others who went out there and gave it their best and achieved success.

When you start feeling competitive again, here's what you can do:

• Become inspired by successful people and learn how they achieved so much. Then, apply their strategy for success to your own life.

• You need to be around people who are happy and positive. Stay away from negative people.

Every day you're on this Earth is really a gift. Don't waste time letting your inflated ego keep you down or make you feel bad. Direct your energy toward your own unique talents and how you can use them to make your own life better.

Here's a little bonus tip for you:

Whenever you find yourself comparing yourself to others (in that you desire to be like or better than them; or, you desire what they have, better than they have, or more than they have), you're slipping into the realm of competitive thought, whether you realize it or not.

The answer?

Well, Wallace D. Wattles put it very well in Chapter 14 of his book The Science of Getting Rich ("The Impression of Increase") when he wrote:

"No better statement of the principle of creative action can be formulated than the favorite declaration of the late 'Golden Rule' Jones of Toledo: 'What I want for myself, I want for everybody.'"

In other words, as he put it in "Ideals and How to Form Them", the fifteenth of fifteen articles in his Lessons in Constructive Science series:

"Desire for yourself all that you need for the purpose of living a full and complete life and desire that everybody else shall have all that is necessary to the living of an equally full and complete life."

Then:

"Live your own life and let other people live their own lives."

It's that simple!

By the way, while we're on the subject, nowhere in his writings did Mr. Wattles address the subject of competition better than he did in a series of three articles he wrote under the tile The Law of Opulence. Click or tap the links below to get your copy today.

Click or tap here to get The Law of Opulence along with sixty-nine other rare books and articles by Wallace D. Wattles in paperback on Amazon.

Important Note: If you haven't already read Wallace D. Wattles' The Law of Opulence series, I highly recommend you do. If you have, I highly recommend you read it again... and again, and again, and again, and again!

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